Updated March 2025 · 9 min read

iShares Canada ETFs 2025: Best Options from BlackRock

About iShares Canada: iShares is the world's largest ETF provider, operated by BlackRock. Their Canadian lineup trades on the TSX and offers some of the lowest-cost ETFs available to Canadian investors, including the popular XEQT and XGRO all-in-one portfolios.

BlackRock's iShares brand dominates global ETF assets under management. In Canada, iShares offers a comprehensive lineup covering every major asset class. Their all-in-one ETFs (XEQT, XGRO, XBAL) are slightly cheaper than Vanguard Canada's equivalents and have become extremely popular among Canadian passive investors.

iShares All-in-One ETFs (Core Series)

Ticker	Name	Allocation	MER	Approx. Yield
XEQT	iShares Core Equity ETF Portfolio	100% equity	0.20%	~1.7%
XGRO	iShares Core Growth ETF Portfolio	80% equity / 20% bonds	0.20%	~2.0%
XBAL	iShares Core Balanced ETF Portfolio	60% equity / 40% bonds	0.20%	~2.3%
XCNS	iShares Core Conservative Balanced ETF Portfolio	40% equity / 60% bonds	0.20%	~2.6%
XINC	iShares Core Income Balanced ETF Portfolio	20% equity / 80% bonds	0.20%	~2.9%

XEQT Deep Dive

XEQT holds four underlying iShares ETFs: XIC (Canadian equities ~25%), XUS (U.S. equities ~45%), XEF (international developed ~25%), and XEC (emerging markets ~5%). It provides exposure to thousands of global stocks in a single fund with an MER of 0.20% — slightly cheaper than Vanguard's VEQT at 0.24%.

iShares Canadian Equity ETFs

Ticker	Name	Index	MER	Yield
XIC	iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Composite	S&P/TSX Capped Composite	0.06%	~3.0%
XIU	iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF	S&P/TSX 60	0.18%	~2.8%
XDV	iShares Canadian Select Dividend	Dow Jones Canada Select Dividend	0.22%	~4.3%
CDZ	iShares S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats	S&P/TSX Dividend Aristocrats	0.66%	~3.8%

iShares U.S. Equity ETFs

Ticker	Name	MER	Notes
XUS	iShares Core S&P 500 Index ETF	0.10%	CAD, hedged version: XSP
XSP	iShares Core S&P 500 Index ETF (CAD-Hedged)	0.10%	Removes USD/CAD currency risk
XQQ	iShares NASDAQ 100 Index ETF (CAD-Hedged)	0.39%	Tech-heavy growth
XUU	iShares Core S&P U.S. Total Market Index ETF	0.07%	Broader than S&P 500

iShares International ETFs

Ticker	Coverage	MER
XEF	Developed markets ex-North America	0.22%
XEC	Emerging markets	0.27%
XWD	MSCI World Index (global developed)	0.44%

iShares Bond ETFs

Ticker	Name	MER	Duration
XBB	iShares Core Canadian Universe Bond Index	0.10%	~8 yrs
XSB	iShares Core Canadian Short Term Bond Index	0.10%	~3 yrs
XLB	iShares Core Canadian Long Term Bond Index	0.20%	~16 yrs
XGB	iShares Canadian Government Bond Index ETF	0.17%	~9 yrs
XCB	iShares Canadian Corporate Bond Index ETF	0.23%	~7 yrs

iShares vs Vanguard Canada: Which Is Better?

Factor	iShares (BlackRock)	Vanguard Canada
All-in-one MER	0.20%	0.24%
Canadian equity MER	0.06% (XIC)	0.05% (VCN)
S&P 500 MER	0.10% (XUS)	0.09% (VFV)
ETF lineup breadth	Very broad	Focused
All-in-one options	5 options	5 options

Verdict: iShares all-in-one ETFs (XEQT, XGRO) are slightly cheaper than Vanguard equivalents (VEQT, VGRO). Both are excellent choices. The 0.04% difference on $100,000 is $40/year — negligible. Choose either and stay consistent.

Recommended iShares ETF Portfolios

One-fund portfolio: XEQT (long horizon) or XGRO (medium horizon)

Two-fund portfolio: XIC (30%) + XUU or XUS (70%)

Three-fund portfolio: XIC (30%) + XUS (45%) + XEF (25%)

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